There’s a sad trend developing this year on The Show as it grinds along: People who can actually sing are getting the boot.

Vainglorious got his this week, despite the fact that he easily can out-sing at least three remaining contestants and has a strong stage presence. I see this as a karmic rebound for his decision to wear an ascot last week, and since he’s about as long in the tooth as you can be on this show, his future doesn’t look terribly bright despite his obvious talent (a parallel experience from last year: Does anyone even know what she is doing these days?). And she lives on, despite her obvious stage fright and bad case of self-loathing (she’s actually better than she thinks, but she never shows it live).

And we have another disturbing trend: The shiny happy people live on. This is too much perkiness for me, especially from The Imp, who is marvelously talented but nonetheless getting on my nerves. The other two perky performers have a bright future outside of a subway station somewhere.

One other note: I found out this week that this dude, who certainly should be a favorite (but will be crushed in the end), is a graduate of my alma mater. He seems to have overcome that handicap quite nicely.